Pontiac did some shuffling of nameplates in 1971 with the Grand Ville being added to replace the Bonneville as their top-of-the-line full-size automobile. The Bonneville was still around but dropped down a notch to take over for the Executive. In 1974 you could still get the Grand Ville as a convertible, the next-to-last-year before Pontiac would get out of that business (at least for a time). Located in Seattle, Washington, this gigantic drop-top doesn’t run but is available here on craigslist for $4,000.
Because the Grand Ville was the “top dog”, it came with Pontiac’s largest engine, the 455 cubic inch V8 (until 1975 when it was offered with a 400 in the nameplate’s last year). Pontiac produced exactly 3,000 of them as convertibles in 1974. The GM division went on to build 4,500 more copies in 1975 before dropping the body style. In 1976, only Cadillac would peddle a GM ragtop, and they got out of the business, too, in 1977 when all of GM’s big cars were downsized.
The seller describes this “Poncho” as a barn find and that structure is in the photos to prove it. It was listed as the Catalina model, but the badges say otherwise. From the looks of things, the Grand Ville has been sitting for a while (notice what appears to be mildew on the convertible boot). It’s also described as a project and we wouldn’t be surprised if the car’s time in the barn brought along some corrosion (there’s also a hole in the trunk floor, though we don’t know why).
The white interior may be okay when cleaned up (but the steering wheel is broken) and the seller suggests a new top is needed (we see no photos of it in the up position and we hope it was to help keep critters out of the interior). The large Pontiac has been repainted, but we don’t know if the original color was kept. There’s no indication of what it will take to get the big displacement V8 and automatic transmission going again. But after 50 years, how many of these Grand Ville convertibles could be left? A few hundred at best?
When you can see the grass while looking inside the trunk you know there are too many ZERO’s in the price. Nice car when new ? Yes , desirable in this shape ? Not really
Pontiac really put the GRAND in upscaling Bonneville. I once owned a 74 GRANDVILLE 4 door black vinyl top and interior over metallic copper. I often referred to it as my Halloween car. While I loved it, it became more of a trick than a treat. A seal somehow broke allowing transmission fluid to get into the radiator. When the radiator cap was removed, it was full with what looked like baby 💩. Although out from warranty, Pontiac fixed it without charge, stating it was a frequent issue.
This is one I would love to tinker on and see if I could get it running and driving again. Then detail the interior and move it on to the next person.
Look like there are two holes in the trunk, not one.
Both rectangular.
Would a nice looking car if fixed. But how many $$$$$.
Non-running, rotted and moldy mildew infested, no mention of any rodent damage….IMHO, $400 project at best. No indication of whether engine turns, Lord only knows how many thousands of dollars to restore for an end product that might be worth 6 grand when all said and done….that’s a hard pass!
Did this fool store it with the top down? That interior is a mess. The whole car is a mess. Doesn’t run, don’t know about the trans, front end or the brakes. The steering wheel is shot, who knows what problems the electrical system has. The rear power window switch is hanging by wires. Otherwise it’s a great car!
The mismatched rims, old worn tires and the duel chrome exhaust tips (the first to go in my opinion) tells me this car was beat to death by someone under 30. No wonder it doesn’t run.
Back around the early 2000s I almost bought a ’74 Grandville convertible. Same color. This is a nice dark red. Love a white interior on a convertible. Hope the top is white and not black. Anyway, it would have been my first and only Pontiac. I’ve never owned a Pontiac. But almost did.
for that car 4000 is too much.I practically gave my 75 away for free including extra parts that I had lying around. you just can’t get many parts for them on account that there is no after market for them.nice cars and sometimes I wish that I kept it but hey didn’t want to spend 20000 to get it back to where it should have been
Pricy project. Worthy of being saved but is it worth the cost of saving?
My 455/462 came out of a 74 Grandville. After a complete rebuild with a little more then stock parts it is serving me well in my 63GP. The stock 389 tripower is on a stand in the shop waiting it’s turn for a rebuild.
This car needs too much work. The stereo, The exhaust tips and the holes in the truck killed it for me!! Maybe the holes in the truck are for water drainage!!
I recall back in the day when all my wife wanted was a ragtop. So being a
good husband, I tried to find one that we could afford that ran and drove so
that we could fix it up as time and money allowed. After looking at a lot of overpriced junk, I called a friend of
mine down in Springfield, told him what I wanted, and sat back and waited. Two weeks later, I got a call from him telling me he’d found a ragtop in pretty good shape for $1K–
not a bad price for such a car in the
Winter of ’82-83, so I made arrangements for him to drive the car
to my house for me to look it over. I waited all day for him to show up and
when he did, I couldn’t believe the sorry sight that greeted my eyes when
he pulled up in front of our house in
the sorriest looking ’72 Pontiac Catalina ragtop I’d ever seen! This car
beat that one by a mile. The one Rick
brought me was a rusted pile of driving junk that made this car look like a winner. The one I looked at had
no floors. And even though it had some floors in the rear seat area, they
were ready to cave in any minute. The
top? It was ragged and patched with
duct tape to keep it from leaking. It was held in place by C-clamps to keep it from flying open as he drove the car to my house and on I-55 no less! My late FIL test drove it for us
to get an honest second opinion. And
when he got back, my FIL told my friend to get his ass back in the car and drive it back to Springfield. That’s
pretty much all he said as I deleted the torrential flood of profanity as he
Described the POS that Rick tried to
stick us with. Long story short, if my
friend would’ve had this car, I might’ve
bought it from him. But in Rick’s defense, that pile of rust ran like a sewing machine. Too bad the rest of the car was crap. I never saw Rick again after that. And my wife? She outgrew her love of ragtops after watching Friday the 13th part 2 where
Jason pokes holes in the top of a big
convertible trying to get the girl inside
it. Seeing this car reminded me of what nearly happened to me 40 years
ago. And yes Angel, that’s the color of red I was going for to use on the Fleetwood but couldn’t quite mix. I’ve
got it ready to become an ad vehicle
And I should be nearly done with it either tomorrow or Wednesday. I’ll send you pics of the car as I get it done. Good night Angel 💋 Night all.